Cincinnati commit Harper Clopton ready for lacrosse season after missed year
SWAMPSCOTT, Mass. (BVM) — Swampscott senior Harper Clopton has been a constant hard worker throughout her career with the Big Blue girls lacrosse team.
After playing on the varsity team since her freshman year, Clopton had hoped the team’s continued development throughout her first couple of seasons would lead to a special year after tough losses to Newburyport in back-to-back seasons. Unfortunately, the Big Blue midfielder wouldn’t get the chance after the spring season was cancelled.
“Freshman year we made it to semifinals and we played Newburyport and they blew us out of the water,” Clopton said. “Sophomore year we came back, made it to semifinals again, and we played Newburyport and we actually lost in overtime. So just that year of growth was really significant. We were really excited to push forward and carry that through junior year and it was really sad to know that we lost that year.”
During the off time, Clopton made sure to stay busy on the lacrosse field. With the heat of her recruiting coming during the lay-off, the Big Blue midfielder made sure to keep a stick in her hand, attending as many clinics and tournaments as she could. While visiting schools she made sure to keep an open mind before being blown away by her visit to the University of Cincinnati.
“It was always a dream of mine to play in college,” Clopton said. “I would watch it all the time with my dad. Once you get into high school you start thinking about whether you are going to take it to the next level or not and I think one of the biggest parts of my recruiting process was just the fact that I kept my mind open and looked at all the programs.
“I went to all the clinics for all different types of schools and Cincinnati was actually the very last prospect clinic I ever went to. I walked in the school and I was just like, ‘no way, I have to go to this school.’ I went to the clinic and I talked to the coaches and they were just amazing. A few days after, I was ready to commit and I had no hesitation. I knew it was my dream school.”
Signing day would become an even more unique experience for Clopton who would share the stage with two of her fellow teammates. Clopton, along with three other current Big Blue seniors, first entered the high school’s lacrosse program as eighth-graders to help build up the school’s JV team. The close-knit group of Elizabeth Green, Reese Robertson, Jordan Waters, and Clopton have been playing together since they were little.
“I think it was a really great experience for us four,” Clopton said of the college signing day experience. “It’s really unique to have gone this far with four people in the same sport. It’s hard to describe but I think it was a really happy moment for everybody, just to be together and have done this all together and gone through the same process.”
With her college commitment behind and the lacrosse season ramping up, Clopton is looking forward to her final season with the group of seniors she came up with. She will also get the chance to team up with her little sister, Coco, who will be a freshman this year.
“[It’s] really emotional because we have gone all this time together and now that three of us are going to pursue it in college, it’s [going to be] really cool,” Clopton said. “We didn’t even get to tap into a spring season at all last year so we are kind of coming in with a… different team, but also a team that is really close and has played together for quite some time. I think that we’re really excited to get the ball rolling quickly.”
With the spring season set to start on April 26, Clopton is ready to leave it all out there for the Big Blue.
“I definitely want to make the most out of every opportunity that we are given,” Clopton said. “There were a lot of things that I was excited to get done in my junior year because I was a little bit more reserved as a player when I was younger and that makes sense as an underclassmen. But for this season, I’m really going to work on leaving it all out there every single game.”
